


A Wayward Queen's Attack Leaves the Heart Unguarded

by Kourumi



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Chess, F/M, Falling In Love, melodramatic bastards, sappy romance for my own self indulgence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-23 06:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30051048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kourumi/pseuds/Kourumi
Summary: "Is there really a heart in that void of a soul of his?""Yes. You just have to know where to look."It only takes a moment to fall, and never where you expect it to happen.
Relationships: Female Captain/Chairman Rockwell (The Outer Worlds), The Captain/Chairman Rockwell (The Outer Worlds)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [malpaislegate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/malpaislegate/gifts).



> in addition to malpaislegate,   
> i'd like to also thank bonymalony and jackalgirl for always listening to me ramble about these two :)

Rockwell settled in a plush armchair as soon as he finished arranging the chessboard for their game. Odie had been unusually antsy the whole night and now in the calm of the drawing room, she wiggled like the cushions were on fire.  
He smirked,  
  


"What sort of game are we in for tonight, Olivier? Casual play? High stakes? Perhaps you wish to win a box of those handcrafted chocolates I know you've been stealing from my desk, hmmm?"  
  


Her little pout at being caught made him chuckle.  
  


"Let's do casual, Charles. I can't think of anything fun to counter bet tonight."  
  


"As you wish."

He opened with a risky pawn, just to see if Odie had her head in the game tonight.  
A few moves later much to his frustration, proved she was on top shape.   
  


Ah, she was trying to bait his queen. Very clever, but he wasn't tricked that easily.  
  


He made his move. They locked eyes for a moment and the sweet, pleased smile she responded with made him preen. Their games always thrilled him, Odie was a very worthy opponent. The fact that she was attractive helped tremendously, as did the easy banter between them.  
In fact, he was quite certain they could do this every night and he would never grow tired of it.  


Or grow tired of her.  


His head danced with thoughts of them at work together by day, parties in the evening and making love until they fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms. How long had it been since he felt this comfortable around another person? 

Not since...  _ oh.  
  
_

_ Oh no.  
  
_

He grew nauseous, his head spun. If Odie noticed him becoming much paler, she said nothing.   
She looked up from the board, quite smug.   
  


"Your turn!"  
  


His eyes fell to his remaining pieces, he saw his king was in danger, but no countermoves manifested themselves. Not with his mind caught up in whirlwind revelations.  
He moved on auto-pilot.  


A costly mistake.  


Odie swooped in with the win, and began to giggle in delight. His body was as heavy as lead. Whatever gloats escaped her lips, processed like white noise to his mind.  
  
When it felt like his legs weren't completely made of rubber, he stood and took shaky steps towards Odie. Her ruby eyes reflected the firelight in their facets as she gazed at him, concerned.  
He cupped her chin, and his thumb gently caressed her lips.  
  


"Has anyone told you lately.... How lovely you are?"  


Odie gaped for a long moment, then shook her head,  
  


"I see through you....!"

Now it was his turn to look startled. Had she figured out what had unsettled him that easily?  
She pointed at the game board.  
  


"Trying to suck up to me because you lost. I'm not a fool."

He was undetected, for now. A relieved chuckle escaped,

  
"Yes, my dear. You caught me… Truly and completely."   
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Odie's turn!

The crowds spun and twirled to a lively tune that filled Odie's heart with a sort of melancholy she had long since thought buried. They flitted about, ignoring her, ignoring her unusually demure requests to partner up for a dance.  
It was a stupid thing to want to join along to people who she never fit in with, and would likely never fit in with. The song made her ache, so she passed through the crowd, rebuffed again and again, until she stood alone at the center of the ballroom. Tears threatened to fall any moment.

A tap at her shoulder broke her from her fugue. She twisted around to see a palm held out in invitation, and attached to that palm was Charles.

"Never say I do nothing for you, Olivier."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

She took his hand and he spun her into proper position, immediately stepping in tune to the melody.  
As the song went on, she finally spoke,

"They all hate me."

"They do.... Because they're afraid of you."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I know how to handle you."

"Do you really?"

His right hand slid down from her shoulder to the small of her back. It drew Odie ever tighter into his embrace so there was no space left between their bodies. As they continued to sway to the tune, his next words came out hoarse, 

"I know I do."

Her heart hammered so loud, she was certain he could hear it. The room faded away, and she never felt as warm as she did in his embrace. And as utterly terrified as Odie was at the thought, never so full of love. 

"You'd be right."

He graced her with a soft smirk and threw her off balance into a dip.


End file.
